De Avila Series #1 "Wattys 2022 Grand Prize Winner" Known as the most stubborn and troublemaker daughter of the De Avila family, nothing stops Socorro from pursuing her dreams and passion for writing. Despite living in the 19th century, she believes women can also do great things like men. Being the next daughter to be sent off to an arranged marriage like her older sisters, she's now determined to create her destiny and break every single custom of what a woman was taught to do. She earns money by writing love letters as a ghostwriter. Everything seems to work according to her plan until she meets a young nobleman who can catch her lies and make her feel the love she thought only exists in books. Book cover design by @mariya_alfonso Language: Filipino Date Started: October 31, 2021 Date Finished: June 18, 2022

Growing up insecure, Aurora firmly believes she does not suit someone as perfect as Maxwell. But with him continuing to love her despite her insecurities and fears, will Aurora finally choose to let Maxwell in--or will she keep pushing him away even if it breaks her heart? *** Every love is unique. Every heartbreak is cliche. When I was young, I met a prince who told me I'm beautiful. Sabi niya, paglaki namin, liligawan niya 'ko. We grew up, but unfortunately, I had a reverse story of the ugly duckling. The prince continued to be a prince, while I became the unpretty duck that wouldn't become swan. Bumuhaghag ang buhok ko. Umitim ako. Natadtad ng taghiyawat. Sasabihin siguro ng iba, okay lang pumangit paglaki. Beauty is something that should shine from within. But that's not completely true. Kahit ga'no kaganda ang kalooban, laging huhusgahan ang hitsura. People judge with the eyes first-always. I learned that everyone desires to be interesting, but not different. There is a standard and everyone wants the same thing-beauty, recognition, intellect. I only wanted one thing-to stop dreaming for the prince. But he's Maxwell. When he's in my life, he pulls me into his magnetic field no matter how much I resist. When he's out of my sight, I miss him. Nagkaatraso ako sa kanya no'ng college. As fate would have it, we are going to see each other. Again.

Banished for five years, Lady Belinda Carrington returns to Willowfair, claiming to know things one would find impossible to believe. With her tainted reputation, can Belinda make Town Guard McKenzie Haverston help her in her pursuit of the truth? *** After her banishment five years ago, Belinda Carrington returns with secrets and tales too impossible to believe. But something in her lies makes McKenzie Haverston desperate for the truth... When Belinda shows up in McKenzie's home asking for protection in return for important information on a case he's working on, he rejects her. But when he learns where she had been banished after her great scandal five years ago, he finds himself striking a deal with the woman-he protects her, she gives him answers. The question now is: how true is her tale? She was once considered the fairest of them all, but one scandal later, she has become the most reviled. And she is also being hunted. If Belinda wants to stay alive, she has to start trusting McKenzie Haverston, a task she finds to be surprisingly easy to do. However, as the truth of the past begins to resurface, and the secrets of her scandal is revealed, Belinda is confronted by her own demons, causing her to doubt her own reality. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence, mental trauma, sexual assault, mental health illness

Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong? *** It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed. Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out? Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her? Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires. *This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.

Typical office girl Jackie hates two men: her boss, Dean, and her persistent stalker, Brian. She could have lived with it, but when Brian's stalking gets worse, Jackie is desperate. Even her friends, George and Dannie, can't do much. The police will not do anything and her boss, the only man who seems to put Brian in his place, makes it sure that he is not interested in his employee's personal struggles. Desperate, Jackie decides to do what she thinks is harmless: use Dean's name to scare Brian away and make him her virtual boyfriend. Toto and the Boys: Jackie is a hilarious tale of lies, friendship and unexpected love.

Ten Easy Steps to Be a Belle: 1. Lie 2. Be a very good liar 3. Believe the lie 4. Convince people of the lie 5. Find a comrade 6. Test your comrade 7. Remember the lie 8. Be seductive 9. Be smart 10. Kill a Belle

When the obnoxious doctor and notorious drunkard Oliver St. Vincent meets the woman he has always been set to find, he discovers her secrets and he is faced with a problem: is she the enemy, or is she love? ***** Set to return previous King Reginald to his throne, the gentlemen of the Royal Circus is in for an adventure with their biggest enemy thus far, and it is not the current King Louis but the institution that placed him there: Belcourt. An orphanage exclusive only to young girls, Belcourt keeps too many secrets, amongst them are the Belles, a group of women trained in the art of espionage and seduction. And in the middle of all this, drunkard and secret doctor of the Royal Circus, Oliver St. Vincent finds himself enamored and intrigued by one Belle because of a past they share. At the same time, Aliya, considered as the prime Belle of Belcourt, finds herself drawn to the bedraggled, obnoxious doctor she should consider her enemy. But unknown to all, Aliya holds a secret. And it is one that will fuel the game between the ladies of Belcourt and the gentlemen of the Royal Circus. Still set in the fictional world of the Kingdom of Sutherland, this story follows the first title of the series, Court of Flowers.

In Belcourt, they rear weapons no man can contend with: women. Sasha was never meant to be in the Court of Flowers, one of the most sought-after courts in Belcourt, but when she is suddenly placed there without warning, she discovers a world far from what she expected--one that reeks of passion, seduction, secrets, and betrayal. ***** Belcourt, an orphanage for young girls, keeps many secrets within its walls. Among those are the four courts that rear the kingdom's most powerful weapons: the Ladies of Belcourt. Sasha is safely tucked away in the Court of Libraries when Belcourt makes a sudden decision it has never done before in more than half a century. She is transferred into the Court of Flowers, the most famous court of all, where she is expected to service gentlemen who paid their way in for a Belle, a woman trained to please, seduce, and spy. Things take a turn when she is introduced to the mysterious West Blackwood who has a very different service in mind, one too tempting and one that may ultimately change Sasha's safe life in Belcourt. Torn between powerful forces, both the kingdom and Belcourt itself, Sasha will have to determine where her loyalties lie: to the man who not only infuriates her at every turn but also awakens sensations she never felt before? Or to the place that has always been her home since the day she walked away from a cottage with two dead bodies?

Powerful deity Isla Develler is cursed and goes to the other side of the world for a solution, where she encounters more trouble than she imagined, among them a human who ignites her darkest desires and a mischievous god who seems to enjoy her struggles. ***** Growing up in a powerful family of Opulents, beings with blood of both the gods and angels, Isla is the best candidate to be the next Opulent Empress. But being an Opulent means getting a Curse. Isla just got hers and it's a bad one. Before her ambitious cousin finds out and ruin her chance to the throne, Isla is forced to go to the other side of the world, live in a dilapidated colonial house in the middle of a mystical forest that hides many secrets, and lead the incompetent Department of Lost Things where the temporary solution to her Curse is kept. Things get a little tricky for Isla when she encounters a human teenage girl who lost her memories. But Jade is just one trouble Isla will face in East Isles: Across the forest, in a human village, lives Lucas, a powerless but famous human jazz singer with a flock of devout fangirls, and he fills Isla's nights with dark desires that may lead to her ruin. And within the forest is Avi, a mischievous and untrustworthy god, who seems to enjoy watching it. As Isla and the peculiar team of the Department of Lost Things reluctantly help Jade find her family, while working on a case for a major goddess with a major attitude, they struggle with everything human and powerless, and other things more sinister that lives very close to home. Content Warning: This story contains mature sexual content and themes of sexual assault and violence. Cover design by Kallmegaudier

wattys 2020 winner • mystery/thriller ━━━━━━━━━ Everyone thinks she is dead. Even I thought so, too. While the town spoke of her dead name, Amethyst Cambray is actually alive, and she is asking for my help. ━━━━━━━━